The Top 10 Best Drones – 2018

We can all agree that drones are definitely one of the most exciting gadgets of the last decade. Flying RC toys have been popular (and somewhat affordable) since the late nineties, but consumer drones, as we know them to be, quickly rose to the mainstream due to 21st century technological advancements in remote controlled flying software and also the lighter & more durable materials that are available for manufactures today.

Drones are controlled by four fixed-pitch fan blades which spin at varying speeds to control the flight. To manoeuvre a drone, one or two of the four blades has to increase or decrease their speed of rotation. Each drone blade has one simple mechanical moving part, a propeller attached to an engine. The main rotor blade of an RC helicopter requires complex pitching mechanisms in order for it to manoeuvre. This difference makes drones much more easier to produce, more reliable, and less costly.

The drones that have made our top 10 list for 2018 are all rated highly among the drone flying community. They are all ready-to-fly models, so there is no need to spend hours putting everything together!

All you would have to do is charge the battery until it’s full; browse through the user manual a few times whilst the battery is charging (we suggest you focus on the ‘how to fly’ section) and perhaps watch a few youtube videos of people flying the model of drone you have purchased so you at least feel a bit more confident before your first flight.

These drones also feature the manufactures built-in safety features, so there is peace of mind that your drone will return to the ground before the battery dies. Some even feature GPS restrictions, so you won’t accidentally fly in to restricted air space. These drones are used by all types of drone pilots – from your weekend hobbyist – to all types of professional drone flying professions, such as aerial photography makers. Whatever drone you decide to buy – these are the drones you’ll be seeing a lot in the skies of 2018!

10)DJI Spark Drone

Spark is a mini drone that features all of DJI’s signature technologies, allowing you to seize the moment whenever you feel inspired. With intelligent flight control options, a mechanical gimbal, and a camera with incredible image quality, Spark empowers you to push your creative boundaries. Quick Launch With Face Aware, Spark lifts off from your hand by recognizing your face.It takes off and hovers in place within seconds of powering on. Simple Control Take amazing aerial photos using just hand gestures, without a remote controller or mobile device. Create with Ease Intelligent Flight Modes and intuitive controls help you create cinematic aerial videos with just a few taps. Edit and Share The DJI GO 4 app features automatic editing templates and an array of filters. Quickly edit videos and share them straight to social media.

Drone Features:

Quick Launch: With FaceAware, Spark lifts off from your hand by recognizing your face.1 It takes off and hovers in place within seconds of powering on.

Simple Control: Take amazing aerial photos using just hand gestures, without a remote controller or mobile device.

Create with Ease: Intelligent Flight Modes and intuitive controls help you create cinematic aerial videos with just a few taps.

QuickShot: Videos with a Tap Let Spark take professional shots for you. QuickShots help you shoot amazing footage with cinematic composition.

9) Autel Robotics X-Star Premium Drone

The Autel Robotics X-Star Premium drone is a sophisticated yet amazingly easy-to-fly drone designed for superb aerial imagery. The 4K camera and 3-axis gimbal can record crystal-clear, smooth Ultra HD videos or take 12-MP photos with HD Live View up to 1.2 miles away. This drone is ready to fly out of the box, and can be flown with or without the help of the free Starlink mobile app. Powered by an intelligent flight control system, dual GPS and GLONASS satellite navigation and aided by the Starpoint Positioning System, the drone stays safe and stable, even indoors or at low altitudes. Where other drones might become erratic or fly away when there is magnetic interference, the X-Star is equipped with our exclusive SecureFly technology to help your drone come back home safely.

Drone Features :

The Forward Direction is the nose direction, it is useful for you find the nose direction when the aircraft flying too far to distinguish

With 10 channels controller makes you operate it easily without taking off your hands to fulfill all the flight modes

High-Precision 3-Axis Gimbal with Vibration absorber sponge will eliminate effectively the vibration of the Aircraft

Integrated image transmission makes it possible for you to control flying direction and flight parameters any time

Leave heart alone quietly and far from noises. The flawless pictures satisfy you with high-quality camera and stable operating

8) Yuneec Q500 4K Typhoon Drone

A completion level of ready-to-fly (RTF) means this version of the Q500 4K Typhoon Drone with CGO3-GB Camera, SteadyGrip, and Camera Aluminum Case Camera and Aluminum Case from Yuneec comes factory-assembled and that a pre-bound transmitter/ground station unit (radio controller) is included. More than just an RC multi-rotor, the Q500 4K Typhoon is designed for APV – aerial photography and video. To this end, it incorporates the CGO3-GB, a 3-axis gimbal-stabilized camera with 4K video recording, 1080p video recording at up to 120 fps, and shoots photos at 12-megapixels.

7)Power Vision PowerRay Wizard

Explore and capture photos and incredible 4K video of the world beneath the surface–from the comfort of your boat–with the PowerRay Wizard Underwater ROV Kit from PowerVision. This bundle includes the PowerRay vehicle and base station, a wireless transmitter/controller, batteries and chargers, and a 64GB memory card. Additionally, you get a generous 210′ tether, along with a PowerSeeker Fishfinder and bait drop line. And to top it all off, you’ll enjoy a pair of ZEISS VR ONE Plus Goggles, which work with your smartphone to enable access to immersive, real-time, streaming 3D video from below the surface–so you can feel as though you’re actually riding inside the ROV. The contents of this versatile kit can be neatly stowed and easily transported in the supplied, wheeled carrying case.

Drone Features :

The Best Underwater Drone! Great for Fishing, Exploring, Mapping, Treasure Hunting, Studying Marine Life or Recording for Film Projects.

6) DJI Phantom 3 Drone

The Phantom 3 Standard drone is simply the best way to start enjoying aerial photography, even with no prior drone flying experience. With its all-in-one ready to fly design and simple GPS- assisted flight, the Phantom 3 Standard lets you focus on taking great pictures and videos. With a range of over half a mile and crystal clear live video streaming over Wi-Fi to your mobile device on the free DJI Go app, the Phantom 3 Standard delivers sophisticated functionality with a simple learning curve and an accessible price point.

Drone features :

View a live image streamed from the drone up to a half mile away on the free DJI Go app using your mobile phone or tablet

GPS assisted flight features let you concentrate on getting great images while the drone helps you fly safely. You can achieve advanced camera perspectives with the Point of Interest, Follow Me and Waypoints modes (pending app feature availability)

Fly up to 25 minutes with the included intelligent battery. A range of accessories is included:1 battery and charger, 2 full sets of propellers, radio controller, 8GB micro SD card

Take stunning 2.7K HD videos and 12 Megapixel photos with the integrated aerial camera and update the remote control first before use.

5)PowerVision Robot 4K Drone

With the push of a button, the aircraft takes off automatically and hovers at the designated altitude. It returns to home point with the push of a button and lands automatically. With PowerEgg Maestro, industry’s first gesture recognition remote control, takeoff and landing can be done with the push of a button so that anyone can fly PowerEgg right out of the box. At any time, push pause button and PowerEgg will pause and maintain its current position. The pause button freezes aircraft mid-air like an emergency brake for improved safety. During flight, PowerEgg will maintain a minimum safe distance from the remote controller, providing additional protection to the user. (Safety radius). With GPS / BeiDou for outdoor positioning and optical positioning for indoor environment, the duo system meets the demand for shooting under various conditions.

Drone features :

Revolutionary design, feature-rich and intuitive with a unique egg-shaped exterior

The PowerEgg Maestro, a gesture-based one-handed controller with motion-sensing capabilities, allows users to interact with and manipulate the drone in flight

Explore from a distance with real-time HD video transmission of up to approximately 3.1 miles

4) DJI Phantom 4 Drone

The DJI Phantom 4 drone is the smartest flying camera drone from DJI, allowing you to capture superb aerial images on your iPhone or iPad. Not only does it fly intelligently with a tap and automatically create seamless tracking shots, it can autonomously avoid obstacles and do much more. Sense and avoid Twin front-facing optical sensors see obstacles, so if there’s something in the Phantom drone’s way it will stop or fly around it – giving you the confidence to fly safely. Fly with touch In TapFly mode, tap the screen of your iPhone or iPad to move in a particular direction. And keep flying by tapping elsewhere on the screen. Visual tracking Now it’s a snap to fly while keeping the camera pointed steadily at a moving subject.

Drone features :

Professional-quality imaging Shoot 4K video at 30fps, full HD 1080p video at up to 120fps for crisp slow motion, and 12 megapixel photos in DNG RAW for full editing creativity. Automatic obstacle avoidance Fly with a tap Track subjects without a tracking device 4K 30fps and 1080p 120fps video 12 megapixel, Adobe DNG RAW photos Ready to fly out of the box Full manual remote camera control, long-range live feed from camera

Visual tracking Now it’s a snap to fly while keeping the camera pointed steadily at a moving subject. ActiveTrack uses advanced visual tracking capabilities to fully automate tracking, so you get the perfect shot every time.

Easy to fly Up to 24 satellites plus advanced Vision Positioning systems make for effortless flight. The Phantom 4 knows where it is, where you are, and flies exactly as you tell it to

Sense and avoid Twin front-facing optical sensors see obstacles, so if there’s something in the Phantom drone’s way it wil stop or fly around it – giving you the confidence to fly safely

3) DJI Mavic Pro Drone

The DJI Mavic Pro drone is a small yet powerful drone that turns the sky into your creative canvass easily and without worry, helping you make every moment an aerial moment. Its compact size hides a high degree of complexity that makes it one of DJI’s most sophisticated flying cameras ever. 24 high-performance computing cores, an all-new transmission system with a 4.3mi (7Km) range, 4 vision sensors, and a 4K camera stabilized by a 3-axis mechanical gimbal, are at your command with just a push of your thumb or a tap of your finger.

Drone features :

Fly for miles. From your pocket; Inside the Mavic’s pocket-sized remote controller is DJI’s brand new OcuSync transmission technology, with a range of 4.3mi (7km) and Full HD 1080p video streaming; No bumps and scrapes When you know what’s in front of you, you won’t bump into it. The same is true of the Mavic. Using FlightAutonomy it can see obstacles as far away as 49ft (15m) in front, so that it can fly at up to 22mph (36kph) while avoiding the things it sees.

Absolute Precision; FlightAutonomy technology means the Mavic can hover precisely in more environments, and automatically land almost exactly where you took off. Stay flying longer; Why fly for 10 or 15 minutes when you can fly for up to 27? With the Mavic you can.

Use every single pixel; The Mavic is the only drone of its size to carry an integrated high-precision 3-axis mechanical camera stabilization system, giving you crystal clear photos and smooth videos, without losing a single pixel. True 4K video. No compromises; When you have a 4K sensor, you expect 4K results without compromises. Every shot you take with the Mavic Pro can be up to 4K, captured at 30 frames per second.

Photos with altitude; Everyone loves a good photo. Whether you just want to take a snap or are building up your portfolio, the Mavic’s 12-megapixel camera with Adobe DNG RAW support is ready to shoot. Get in the frame; Get selfies like you’ve never seen before with Gesture Mode. With the Mavic in the air pointing at you, a gesture is all it takes to take a photo.

Finely tuned control; If you are lining up a photo, or even flying indoors, you don’t want to fly quite so fast. Flip on Tripod Mode and every move the Mavic makes becomes precise and slow. Fly by phone; Maybe all you want to do is grab a quick dronie, set up tracking to shoot a friend, or even just head skywards for a quick flight. All you need is your phone.

2) DJI Inspire 1 PRO ZENMUSE X5 Drone

With the DJI Inspire 1 Pro ZENMUSE X5 Drone, you have the world’s first set of Micro Four Thirds cameras built specifically for aerial photography and cinematography. Bringing unparalleled imaging quality together with integrated 3-axis gimbal stabilization and remarkable ease of use, each empowers you to shoot and complete jobs like never before. The Inspire 1 Pro comes with one transmitter (radio controller) and a second can be added if desired so that one operator can pilot and another can pan and tilt the camera. This is the king of all drones in 2016.

1) DJI Inspire 2 Drone

DJI’s magnesium-aluminum-clad Inspire 2 drone is a powerful cinematic and photographic tool. Combining the Inspire 2 with the separately available X4S and X5S gimbal cameras yields cinema-grade images, which can be recorded in high bit rates using H.264 and H.265 formats, or, in the case of the X5R, various flavors of Apple ProRes and CinemaDNG raw using the required licenses available from DJI. All the recording functionality is processed by the Inspire 2’s CineCore 2.0 image processing engine. Not all the power to be found in the Inspire 2 is in the recording functionality. DJI beefed up the flight capabilities of the Inspire 2. Able to accelerate to 50 mph in 4 seconds and reach a top speed of 67 mph, the Inspire 2 can follow fast-moving subjects for dramatic sports and action footage. The flight prowess of the Inspire 2 doesn’t come at the expense of battery life. With the two included LiPo batteries onboard, up to 27 minutes of flight time can be had on a full charge.

Drone features:

Drone is compatible with 5.2K Gimbal Cameras and features CineCore 2.0 Image Processing.